Machine for polishing buttons



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

`T. GUILPGR'D. MACHINE POR POLISHING BUTTONS. No. 243,702.` Patented July 5', 1881.

' l v l INVENTOR: WITNESSES: v5- 4 5, 4 E y Mlm.

By his .attorneys-,-

N, PETERS. Photwmhqapmr. wnmngu u. C.

(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2.

T. GUIL'FORD. MACHINE FOR POLISHING BUTTONS. No. 243,702. I Patented July 5', 1881,

n. PETERS. Pnawumqgrapmf. wa-hingm", n. c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

TrMorHY GUILFORD, or BREsLAU, NEW YoEK.

`umol-umal FOR PoLlsHlNGBUTToNS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 243,702, dated July 5, 1881. Appneatin ined April 2o, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TruoTHY GUILEORD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Breslau, Su'olk county, N ew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Polishing Buttons, of which'the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for polishing small articles, but especially buttons, the articles to be polished being carried slowly in a circular orbit under the polishing wheels or balls and rotated on their axes at the same time.

The novel features of the invention will be hereinafter described, and definitely set forth in the claims. Y

In the drawings which serve to illustrate my invention, Figure l is a vertical mid-section of the upper part of the machine, the lower part being in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan of the machine. Fig. 3 is a plan of the under side of the machine-top, the supportingpillar being in section. Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged detail views of the brackets in which the polishing-balls are mounted. Fig. Gis a sectional view of the base of the pillar upon whichthe mechanism is mounted. Figs. 7, 8, and 9 are respectively a vertical mid-section, a plan, and an elevation, enlarged, of the button-holder head'. Figs. 10 and l1 are modifications ofthe botton-holding devices.`

A is a hollow pillar or support, which may be bolted to the floor.

B is a circular disk-like plate secured to the top of the pillar A, and provided with gearteeth on its periphery.

C is a driving-pulley, secured to a shaft, D, which has bearings in brackets a a, bolted to a plate or shelf, A', which forms a part ofthe pillar A, or is secured rigidly thereto in some well-known way. It is not important that the bearings for the shaft be provided in this way, however. Y

E is another shaft, arranged to rotate in bearings on the pillar A, and bearing a worm, F, which plays in an opening in the enlarged base of the pillar.

GG are cone-sheaves on the shafts -D and E, whereby the latter is driven from the former by means of a belt.

The Worm F meshes with and drives a wormwheel, H, (see Fig. 6,) mounted on a vertical shaft, L'arranged inside the pillar A. On the upper end of this shaft is mounted a circular disk, J, with a flaring'rim, b, as shown. In this rim are bored inclined holes, to form bearings for spindles c c of the button-holders, each of which has secured to its lower extremity a pinion, d, arranged to engage the teeth on the margin of the disk or plate B, whereby, when the disk J is revolved, the said spindles c will be carried around the disk, and at the same be rotated on their axes.

The button-holding heads e e are att-ached to the upper ends of the spindles c, an-d tit closely down upon the rim b, so as to prevent dust from getting at the bearin gs. These heads possess some novel features, which will be referred to hereinafter.

Referring to Figs. 2,3, 4,- and 5, K is abracket, secured to the shelf Alor to some fixed part `of the machine,and provided with slotted lugs f and bearings at g for bracket-arms h. These arms swing or turn on their bearings at g', and are clamped fast in any desired position by means of clamping screws or bolts t', (shown best in the auxiliary sectional View, Fig. 4,) which play in the slots in the lugs'f.

Each of the bracket-arms 7L has a slot, j, in which plays a tubular slide, 7c. This slide has an enlargement or flange,which takes against the inner face ofthe arm'h, and is provided with a clamping-nut, l, which screws onto its outer end and impinges against lthe opposite face of the arm,thereby clamping the slide in place in the slotflhe slide is moved up or down in the slot by means of a screw, m, connected loosely with the slide in a well-known Way. The slide 7c is threaded internally, and' through it is screwed a wooden cylinder, n,

-which forms a bearing for one end of the arbor or shaft o, upon which is mounted the polishing-ball L and the'pulley or sheavc 19, by

which the arbor is rotated. The arbor is removed by unscrewin g one or both ofthe wooden screws a. I prefer to make these of hard wood, as providing the most satisfactory bearings for the arbor; but other materials may be employed. i

The adjustment of the arms h on their hinging-points g enables me to bring the polishingball L' more or less over the buttons as they pass under it, which is necessary inrpolis'hing buttons of Various shapes, as concave or con- IOO vex 5 and the adjustmentzof the bearings of the ball-arbor in the slots j enables me to feed the ball down to the buttons as it is worn away, and to adjust the pressure ot' the ball on the buttons.

In Figs. 7, 8, and 9 I have shown the head ofthe button-holder enlarged. The head e is internally threaded to receive the spindle c; or it may be secured by a set-screw, if preferred, and a socket, q, is formed in it to recei\'e pins i' fr. The lower ends of these pins rest in sockets at the bottom of the socket q, where they are held in place by means of a set-screw, s, with a conical point., which enters between them. Another screw, t, also with a conical point, is arranged to wedge apart or spread the pins at the upper or free ends, so as to fit them for buttons in which the space between the holes varies. The pins, being of elastic wire, will spring together or toward each other of themselves when the screw t is withdrawn.

The button is stuck upon the free projecting ends of the pins, as shown in Fig. 7; and to prevent the pins from twisting when the button is rotated under the polishing-ball, I provide guides u u, between which the pins playas they spread. This may be effected by means of cross-pins, as shown in Fig. 7 or by the arrangement shown in Fig. 10. This latter shows a metal cylinder, fu, arranged to slip into the socket q in the head, wherein "it may be rmly secured by a set-screw. This cylinder has an open slot, (shown in the plan, Fig. 10,) the sides of which form guides for the pins.

In Fig. 11 I have. shown the same device adapted to hold buttons with shanks instead7 of holes. In this construction the elastic pins are slightly curved at their free extremities, whereby they are enabled to it around and closely embrace the curve of the button-shank, as clearly shown.

To arrest the rotary motion ot' the heads e, so as to enable the operator to place the buttons on the pins the more readily, I employ a device which I will now describe with especial reference to Figs. 2 and 3. v

To the disk B, or some other fixed part of the machine, I bolt rigidly two arms, w to', which extend up a little above the top of the rim b, being curved outward so as not to touch said rim. The upper free extremities of these arms stand close to the heads e. Over the tip of the arm w, I slip the bight of a leather strap, a', the ends of which are then secured to a sleeve, y, which is made to slip over and t onto the extremity of the arm fw', where it is retained by a set-screw. The strap is made tense by turning the sleeve around on the tip of the arm, and when strained enough the set-screw is driven home. When arranged in this manner the strap is caused to bear with some force on the heads e as they are carried around, the pressure being at all times exerted on all the heads included in the space between the arms w and w. To preventthe heads from being forcibly rotated while passing from one arm to the other, I remove the gear-teeth from that portion ofthe edge of the fixed disk B included between the arms w and w', whereby their only tendency to rotate is derived from frictional contact with the yielding strapx and to arrest the rotary motion of the heads, so as to permit the button to be fixed on the pins, I form a tlattened face, z, (see Fig. 8,) on each head,the said face being arranged with reference to the set of the pins alike in all of the heads.

The operation of this device is as follows: When the head strikes the strap w its pinion d is simultaneously disengaged from the gearteeth on the disk B, and this leaves it free to be rotated by the strap; but if its flattened face should by chance be first presented to the strap, it will simply slide or move along thestrap without rotating. If, however, its iiattened face should not be first presented, then it will turn until the said face is presented, when it will slide to the end of the strap. This insures the pins in the heads being always presented to the operator in the same way and greatly facilitates sticking the nnpolished buttons on the pins.

The employment of the doubled strap, inA stead of a single or undoubled one, and the mode of straining described, are only couveniences. So long as a strained and somewhat yielding strap be employed, it is not important how it is arranged.

To remove the polished buttons from the pins, I employ an inclined fork, a', mounted on the arm w', or on some fixed part of themachine, and arranged to take under the buttons just after theyleave the polishing or cleaning ball.

The disk J revolves in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 2, and passes iirst under under one polishing-ball and then under the other. The last is mainly for the purpose of cleaningthebuttons. These polishing-wheels, or balls, as they are generally called, are of the ordinary kind employed in machines of this class.

The machine may be of any convenientsize, and any convenient numberot' polishing wheels or balls may be employed.

By my construction it will be observed that the bearings ot' the shaft I and those of the spindles c are protected from the dust and grit which dies oi' in polishing.

I am fully aware that various machines for grinding and polishing buttons, Svc., employ a rotating head or disk bearingthe button-holding spindles, and that these are rotated on their axes by means ot' pinions on said spindles intermeshing with teeth on a fixed rack; but I am not aware that in any of these the bearings of the rotative mechanism and gearing have been housed in a hollow pillar orcolumn to protect them from dust, &c., as herein shown.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a machine for polishing buttons and IOC) IIO

similar small articles, the combination, with a hollow pillar and a disk fixed to the top of said pillar and having gear-teeth in its periphery, of a disk arranged to rotate over said fixed disk on a vertical shaft inside the hollow pillar, and the button-holders mounted in bearings in the rim of the rotating'disk, and having pinions on the ends of their shanks to engage the gear-teeth on the fixed disk, whereby the button-holders are carried around in an orbit, and at the same time are rotated on their axes, substantially as set forth.

2. In a machine for polishing buttons and similarsmall articles,the combination of a hollow supportingpillar,A, a xed disk, B, secured to said pillar and having gear-teeth on its periphery, a vertical shaft, I, arranged to rotate in said hollowpillar, a disk,J, mounted on the shaft I and arranged to rotate over the upper face of the disk B,buttonholding heads e, the shanks of which have bearings in a rim, b, on the disk J, and which have pinions d arranged to lnesh with the teeth on the disk B, and suitable rotating polishing-balls mounted on-arbors arranged to rotate in a plane tangential to the disk J, and said balls arranged to polish the buttons as they are carried around, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the rotating disk J, having a raised flaring rim, l, provided with bearings for the spindles c ofthe button-holders, the said shanks c and their heads e arranged to fit down closely upon said flaring rim, so as to exclude dust from the bearings, substantially as set forth.

4. In a button-polishing machine, the combination of the hollow pillar A, the fixed toothed disk B, the disk J, bearing the button-holders, the shaft I, arranged within the pillar A, the gear-wheel H on the shaft I, arranged in the base of the pillar A, the shaft E, and the worm F, all arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

5. A machine for polishing buttons, comprising a series lof button-holders arranged to rotate on their axes while moving under polishing wheels or balls, and mechanism, substantially as described, for arresting the button-holdersA and presenting them to the operator in a predetermined way, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a button-polishing machine, the combination, with a rotating or moving part bearing the button-holders,- and the heads of said button-holders provided with flattened faces, of a tense elastic strap, x, for the said heads to bear against as they move along a portion of their travel, whereby they are properly arranged or adjusted to receive the buttons, and means for supporting said strap in a stationary position, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination of the fixed disk B, having a portion of the gear-teeth removed from its periphery, the rotating disk J, bearing the button-holders, the said button-holders having pins to receive the buttons and flattened faces z, the arms w w', and the strap all arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

8. In a button-polishing machine, the head e, provided with elastic pins r r, arranged to play between guides u u, whereby the pins are prevented from twisting, substantially as set forth.

9. In a button-polishing machine, the head e, provided with a socket, q, elastic pins r r, and a spreading-screw, t, all arranged substantiall y as and for the purposes set forth.

l0. In a button-polishing machine, the head e, provided with a socket, q, elastic pins r r, arranged between guides u u, securing-screw s, and spreading-screw t, all arranged to operate substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

11. A polishing-machine for buttons and similar articles, comprising a horizontally-r0- tatin g disk in which are mounted rotating holders for the articles to be polished, said holders aflxed to spindles which rotateinbearings in the rotating disk, polishing wheels or balls mounted on arbors arranged tangentially to the rotating disk in which the spindles of the buttonholders are mounted, the said arbors and brackets in which they are mounted pivoted onaxes arranged also tangentially to the rotating disk, whereby the polishing-wheel may be adjusted over the button-holders and radial to the orbit in which they travel, substantially as set forth.

12. lIhe combination, in a polishing machine for buttons, &c., of the slotted bracketarms h, tubularinternally-screw-threaded slide k, nut l, screw m, and cylinder u, provided with a socket to receive the arbor of the polishing-ball, all arranged substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

TIMOTHY GUILFORD.

Witnesses:

HENRY CoNNE'rT, ARTHUR G. FRAsER.

IOO 

